Vuković with the head of the IMF for Europe: Montenegro wants to join the EU economically prepared

The fact that the director of the IMF European Department, together with the management of the Mission and the regional center, is in Podgorica today confirms the quality of Montenegro's partnership with the IMF, as well as the importance of the Montenegrin reform process for the European region. The economy is accelerating growth, revenues are above plan, the labor market is showing good results, and investments remain one of the key drivers of development. In the year, growth of 3.8 percent was achieved, while the cumulative growth in the first half of the year was 3.3 percent. At the same time, budget revenues for the first seven months were 8.7 percent higher than in the same period last year, while the deficit was 40.5 percent lower than planned. Mr. Szczurek expressed satisfaction that his first official visit was to Montenegro, a long-standing and reliable partner of the IMF, which has an ambitious European agenda and is currently achieving significant accomplishments, which he congratulated. The new Budget and Fiscal Responsibility Law further strengthens fiscal rules and medium-term budget planning, while the Fiscal Council has been appointed and the process of fully operationalizing it has been initiated.